While the FBI will examine the allegations of Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez, the bureau had not been permitted to investigate the claims of Julie Swetnick, who has accused Kavanaugh of engaging in sexual misconduct at parties while he was a student at Georgetown Preparatory School in the 1980s, those people familiar with the investigation told NBC News.

Trump denies it …

NBC News incorrectly reported (as usual) that I was limiting the FBI investigation of Judge Kavanaugh, and witnesses, only to certain people. Actually, I want them to interview whoever they deem appropriate, at their discretion. Please correct your reporting!

Gee, I sure hope the FBI is allowed to waste its time on this patently insane claim. Maybe while they’re at it they can get to the bottom of this:

Julie Swetnick, one of the women accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, faced allegations of her own misconduct during a short stint at a Portland tech company 18 years ago.

. . . .

In the suit, Webtrends alleged Swetnick claimed to have graduated from Johns Hopkins University but the company said it subsequently learned the school had no record of her attendance. Webtrends said she also “falsely described her work experience” at a prior employer.

The suit also alleges Swetnick “engaged in unwelcome, sexually offensive conduct” while at Webtrends and “made false and retaliatory allegations that other co-workers had engaged in inappropriate conduct toward her.”

The suit alleges Swetnick “engaged in unwelcome sexual innuendo and inappropriate conduct” directed at two male employees during a business lunch, with Webtrends customers present. Swetnick claimed two other employees had sexually harassed her, according to the suit.

Allegations in a lawsuit are not evidence and can be completely untrue — take it from me, as someone who has been the target of vindictive lawsuits packed with false claims. Creepy Avenatti points out that the lawsuit was dismissed, and the article does not explain why.

It is the nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost. The title of today’s Bach cantata is “Herr, wie du willt, so schicks mit mir” (Lord, as you will, so let it be done with me).

Today’s Gospel reading is Mark 9:38-50 and sounds like an inversion of the famous George W. Bush line about the terrorists:

Whoever Is Not Against Us Is for Us

“Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”

“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

Causing to Stumble

“If anyone causes one of these little ones — those who believe in me — to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where

“‘the worms that eat them do not die,
and the fire is not quenched.’

Everyone will be salted with fire.

“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

9/29/2018

Very shortly after Laura Ingraham raised questions about the amount, the campaign announced it was no longer accepting donations. Who knows how many more #ResistanceBucks Ford could have raked in otherwise?

This raises genuine concerns about the incentives that such crowdfunding creates for people to make new claims against Kavanaugh, no matter how incredible. Why would someone come forward with a ridiculous claim like Avenatti’s “rape train” client? Here are 500,000 possible reasons.

The actual content? Nothing has changed and she doesn’t remember anything:

Leland Ingham Keyser, a friend of the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault when they were at a party in high school, does not refute the veracity of the allegation, although she does not remember the alleged incident, her lawyer said in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, claims that during a party in the early 1980s at which Keyser and several others were present, Kavanaugh drunkenly pushed her into a bedroom, pinned her down and attempted to remove her clothes before she was able to escape. Kavanaugh has vehemently denied the allegation.

“Ms. Keyser does not refute Dr. Ford’s account, and she has already told the press that she believes Dr. Ford’s account,” Keyser’s attorney, Howard Walsh, wrote in the letter, which was sent to the committee overnight Friday. “However, the simple and unchangeable truth is that she is unable to corroborate it because she has no recollection of the incident in question.”

Walsh also said in the letter that Keyser will “cooperate fully” with an FBI investigation into the allegation.

But it doesn’t really matter that a friend doesn’t remember an unspecified incident from 36 years ago, right? I actually thought that, before the testimony. Now? I’m not so sure:

Who would remember that time you were in a dead quiet room with 3 (or 4 – new version!) drunk older boys and a close friend, your friend went upstairs with two of them, music blasted, boys "pinballed" loudly down the stairs, and shortly after your friend ran out without a word? https://t.co/MqgphpJlCP

Regardless of how it’s phrased by the Feinstein-referred lawyers who apparently didn’t even tell Ford about the offer to interview her privately in California…the real takeaway here, CNN, is not that the friend doesn’t refute Ford. It’s that the friend does not corroborate Ford.

9/28/2018

I don’t think this is much of a surprise. Flake saw the same thing most of us saw yesterday: that absent the testimonial performances, there was zero corroborating evidence to support the allegation we saw aired yesterday. It’s not a sufficient reason to deny a good man a seat on the Supreme Court. If it were that easy, we’d never get a seat again. If you look at the nonsense coming out of the woodwork, it’s obvious that there will always be some non-credible people willing to make accusations like this.

Here’s Flake getting yowled at and having his trip to the vote impeded by alleged sexual assault victims forming a mob. Look at me when I’m screaming at you!

9/27/2018

Oh: if you’re going to be following the whole “did our Supreme Court nominee facilitate chain rape and commit sexual assault?” hearing, here are a couple of tidbits.

Not to pull an Ed Whelan on you, but maybe it was these guys who attacked Ford?

The Senate Judiciary Committee has interviewed two men this week who say that they, not Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh, were involved in the sexual assault that Dr. Christine Blasey Ford alleged happened in the summer of 1982.

Then again, maybe not:

The news was included in a timeline released Wednesday evening by the committee, and it is unclear how seriously the committee is taking the claims. Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham called one of the men “crazy as a loon” when asked about the claims Thursday morning on “Fox & Friends.”

I hear that Sen. Mazie Hirono said on CNN that she is Very Upset that “shadow people” are claiming credit. Because if there’s one thing that shouldn’t affect this process, it’s anonymous accusations from shadow people who might be lunatics. OH BY THE WAY DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE NEW ACCUSATION AGAINST BRETT KAVANAUGH?!?!?!?

Kavanaugh's latest accuser, who claims Kavanaugh raped someone on a boat in 1985, repeatedly called for a military coup against Trump and said the president was guilty of "manslaughter." https://t.co/rsdIm7SqrM

Julie Swetnick, the woman who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and a friend of attending house parties where women — including herself — were sexually assaulted, had a restraining order filed against her years later in Miami by her former boyfriend.

A Miami-Dade County court docket shows a petition for injunction against Swetnick was filed March 1, 2001, by her former boyfriend, Richard Vinneccy, who told POLITICO Wednesday the two had dated for four years before they broke up.

Thirteen days later, the case was dismissed, not long after an affidavit of non-ability to advance fees was filed.

According to Vinneccy, Swetnick threatened him after they broke up and even after he got married to his current wife and had a child.

“Right after I broke up with her, she was threatening my family, threatening my wife and threatening to do harm to my baby at that time,” Vinneccy said in a telephone interview with POLITICO. “I know a lot about her.”

“She’s not credible at all,” he said. “Not at all.”

Vinneccy is a victim. Believe victims!

Enjoy today’s shenanigans! And always remember: we have to delay and investigate some more! It’s the Democrat way.

“I am not questioning and have not questioned that perhaps Dr. Ford at some point in her life was sexually assaulted by someone at some place,” he added. “But what I know is, I’ve never sexually assaulted anyone.”

The committee has interviewed two men who came forward about the disputed assault at a summer house party. Both told the committee they, not Kavanaugh, “had the encounter with Dr. Ford in 1982 that is the basis of his complaint,” the release states.

One of the men was interviewed twice by committee staff. He also submitted two written statements, one on Monday and a second, more in-depth statement on Wednesday.

Committee staff spoke to a second man over the phone Wednesday who also said he believed he, not Kavanaugh, had the disputed encounter with Ford. “He explained his recollection of the details of the encounter” to staff, the release states.

“Republicans are flailing,” the aide said, according to NBC News. “They are desperately trying to muddy the waters. … Twelve hours before the hearing they suggest two anonymous men claimed to have assaulted her. Democrats were never informed of these assertions in interviews, in violation of Senate rules.”

9/26/2018

A third accuser has come forward to accuse Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, saying “he was physically abusive toward girls in high school and present at a house party in 1982 where she says she was the victim of a “gang” rape.” Michael Avenatti is representing the woman, Julie Swetnick. I’m quoting from the Washington Post’s report about the claims, but with this caveat, per the Washington Post:

The Post has not independently verified her allegations regarding President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee.

Not a judgment on the underlying claims, but worth noting that unlike the first two allegations against Kavanaugh, this one is not coming through a news story that was reported out and vetted by journalists.

(Which is amusing in that Kavanaugh himself was vetted six times by the FBI and yet, here we are…)

Perhaps the biggest caution is that this latest allegation involves Michael Avenatti.

Anyway, make of it what you will:

In a declaration, Julie Swetnick, who attended Gaithersburg High School, said she observed Kavanaugh drinking excessively at house parties and engaging “in abusive and physically aggressive behavior toward girls.”

Swetnick said she witnessed efforts by Kavanaugh and others to get girls inebriated so they could be “gang raped” in side rooms at house parties by a “train” of numerous boys.

“I have a firm recollection of seeing boys lined up outside rooms at many of these parties waiting for their ‘turn’ with a girl inside the room. These boys included Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh.”

…

In her declaration, Swetnick recounts an alleged incident in approximately 1982 in which she says she was the victim of a “gang rape” at which Kavanaugh was present.

She does not say Kavanaugh participated in the alleged rape or what, if any, role he played, nor does she say where the alleged episode took place.

“During the incident, I was incapacitated without my consent and unable to fight off the boys raping me,” Swetnick says. “I believe I was drugged using Quaaludes or something similar placed in what I was drinking.”

Here is the affidavit:

Below is my correspondence to Mr. Davis of moments ago, together with a sworn declaration from my client. We demand an immediate FBI investigation into the allegations. Under no circumstances should Brett Kavanaugh be confirmed absent a full and complete investigation. pic.twitter.com/QHbHBbbfbE

“I also witnessed efforts by Mark Judge, Brett Kavanaugh and others to cause girls to become inebriated and disoriented so they could then be “gang raped” in a side room or bedroom by a “train” of numerous boys. I have firm recollection of seeing boys lined up outside rooms at many of these parties waiting their “turn” with a girl inside the room. These boys included Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh.”

In 1982, I became the victim of one of these “gang” or “train” rapes where Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh were present. Shortly after the incident, I shared what had transpired with at least two other people. During the incident, I was incapacitated without my consent and unable to fight off the boys who were raping me. I believe I was drugged using Quaaludes or something similar placed in what I was drinking.

This is ridiculous and from the Twilight Zone. I don’t know who this is and this never happened,”

A couple of points: If you read the affidavit, Swetnick said she attended “over ten house parties” during 1981-1982 where these alleged “gang rapes” were taking place. It doesn’t seem reasonable that a young woman who was upset by what was happening would not only continue to go to parties where “gang rapes” were happening, but also apparently never notified the authorities or any other adults about it. If girls were being regularly victimized, she just let it go on without saying anything to anyone, or without at least warning the “especially vulnerable” or “shy” girls? While I understand an individual being reluctant, or even so traumatized as to be unable to report her own attack, it doesn’t make sense that Swetnick would not, at the very least, step in to protect other girls from having this happen to them. Even anonymously contacting the authorities. Also, by virtue of her statement, if it’s true, just how many victims and assailants are out there?

KIMMEL: “I think there’s a compromise here. Hear me out on this. So, Kavanaugh gets confirmed to the Supreme Court, okay. Well, in return we get to cut that pesky penis of his off in front of everyone." pic.twitter.com/CXVKc25Ylc

To get serious for a moment: Kavanaugh’s situation and Kimmel’s are not the same thing, obviously. All Kimmel did was use his TV stardom to get women to voluntarily grab around his crotch area. Kavanaugh, by contrast … likely did nothing wrong at all. The only woman who has specifically accused him of doing anything with his penis told people all week she wasn’t sure it was him.

I’m just saying that Jimmy Kimmel might not be the exact right guy to be carrying this stupid banner.

A lot of you guys are always saying that Twitter is the devil’s tool: a toxic garbage dump of a site with virtually no redeeming qualities and a primary purpose of allowing groupthink mobs to form and randomly terrorize good people.

Well, you’re right.

Except that I did find this one delightful story there yesterday, and in these times of waiting for Kavanaugh and Rosenstein shoes to drop (what happens when both shoes are dropped at once?) I thought I’d lighten the mood by sharing it with you.

First, the background: as an avid David Bowie fan, I was always entranced with his album “Hunky Dory” and the whimsical song “Kooks”:

I had always understood that Bowie wrote the song to his newborn son, and the lyrics promise a fun, devil-may-care life to the young lad:

And if you ever have to go to school
Remember how they messed up this old fool
Don’t pick fights with the bullies or the cads
Because I’m not much cop at punching other people’s dads
And if the homework brings you down
Then we’ll throw it on the fire
And take the car downtown

“What a fun dad he would be!” I always thought. Well, yesterday on the Twitters people were musing about this, and how Bowie’s son Duncan Jones must have been able to use the song as an excuse to get out of homework:

"And if the homework brings you down Then we'll throw it on the fire And take the car downtown…"David Bowie, Kooks, 1971. #WiseWords

9/25/2018

Sen. Ted Cruz was forced to leave a Washington restaurant Monday after left-wing activists swarmed the senator, heckling him with chants and demanding to know his position on embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

In two videos posted to Twitter, a small group of activists can be seen confronting the Texas Republican and his wife, Heidi, as the couple makes their way to a table at Fiola, an Italian restaurant near the Capitol building.

The videos have garnered more than 1.2 million views since they were posted late Monday.

I don’t understand why Cruz allowed himself to be chased off. It’s tough to know what you would actually do in that situation, but I’d like to think I’d stay put and wait for the restaurant to eject the trespassers.

Mobs can’t be allowed to win. You give in here, and it has consequences down the road.

A pedestrian who authorities say was struck by a vehicle in Hays County on Saturday evening was found dead hours after the driver came into contact with a deputy and failed to report the crash, Texas Department of Public Safety officials said.

Michael Delaney May, 32, was found dead off the roadway on Goforth Road, DPS officials said. Troopers were called at 7:51 a.m. Sunday to investigate the incident, but investigators determined May had been hit the night before, DPS officials said.

The owner of a nearby Hays County business told troopers that his security cameras caught a partial glimpse of the crash, which DPS officials said helped them identify the hit-and-run suspect as 22-year-old Tony Ponce-Zamora.

Troopers tracked Ponce-Zamora down and detained him on Sunday after he admitted to driving the vehicle at the time of the crash and leaving the scene, DPS officials said.

Hays County sheriff’s officials said a deputy interacted with Ponce-Zamora the night before, but Ponce-Zamora failed to inform the officer about the crash.

. . . .

“Due to Ponce withholding this information, (May) was not given medical attention and died due to his injuries,” DPS officials said in a statement.

Ponce-Zamora is now in the Hays County Jail on a charge of fail to stop and render aid resulting in death and is being held on an ICE detainer and a $50,000 bail, records show.

Hays County is not far from Austin, which is trying to be a sanctuary city protecting people like Ponce-Zamora from the immigration officials who would deport him.

I doubt May’s story will get the national attention that was paid to the story of Kate Steinle, but May was a human being, like her and you and me.

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About Patterico

Pronounced "Patter-EE-koh"

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